I own a ski property and I have a potential renter that sounds great but a little odd. They are from Ukraine and want to rent my Ski condo in WV for 1 week in Summer. Is there any type of scam from international starting points that I should be aware of? So far there has been no odd request other than they want to rent my place. Which is awesome obviously because I will be happy to have a renter in summer. I'm also totally happy to have people from anywhere in the world of course. I just thought I would check if any phishing or fraud takes place like this etc.

You’ve supplied us with very little information to make an educated determination, so I will make an assessment with what’s on hand.

Ukraine is a known place where vacation rental scammers operate and many Owners and Travelers can attest to being victimized by scammers operating in that area. There are very few Ukrainians that can afford to travel to the U.S. to vacation, let alone obtain a tourist visa to the U.S. And if they could, they are certainly wealthy, but even those would prefer to travel to well known tourist places in the U.S. given that it is a rare occurrence or once in a lifetime opportunity, places like New York, Disney World, Grand Canyon, Hollywood, and the likes, certainly not your place in Snowshoe, West Virginia, where its main attraction is specifically geared for skiers during the winter months, and certainly not a week coop-up in your Lodge during the summer. You get my drift?

If the Inquirer progressed to telling you in his subsequent emails, any of the following, then that is the “coup de grace” it is a scam.

>> Offers to pay more than your stated rate, or explains to you that their HR has made a mistake of sending you an over-payment that included their plane ticket and now wants you to send them the difference by way of a certified check or wire transfer.

At this point, I see classic symtoms of a scam, perhaps a crescendo that might build up to a "FINALE" - the “coup de grace”. Should you wish to proceed, do so with extreme CAUTION!

Further information... They did say that they could only pay by check. This is fine for me because I don't take credit cards yet. They are booking for July so any check they gave me would be cashed long before they get to the property. Obviously I wont give them any refund or otherwise cash the check then give the $$ back in a different form. I do think this is a scam the more I read about others being contacted by Ukrainians with similar stories and names.

Below is the actual request:

Hello

Thanks for the updated information.

We are okay with the accommodation and cost .

we would also like to confirm the reservation on the following information:

- Mrs Olchik Solntseva

89/281 Jubileniya, 82209 kiev, Ukraine.

Also , due to the unsecured use of credit card online or on the phone, I have arrange for payment inform of check

It has SCAM written all over it. The Inquirer has delivered the "coup de grace"!

The check he will provide will be a fake one, and may even clear. Sometimes they try to fake a check of a company, and the company may be a legitimate one and the company may not notice the debit until several months later. That will certainly come back to haunt you, as you may be targeted for an investigation on a possible fraudster since you cashed the check. A sheriff may be knocking on your door, or an FBI agent. Save yourself the trouble – don’t even cash the check.

Gosh..... I guess the Ukranians are "working overtime" this week as we, too, received a similarly worded inquiry concerning our apartment in Venice, Italy!!!!

The original inquiry sounded fine, but then red flags went up immediately afterwards when "they" were willing to take any available date, couldn't pay using our preferred method of PayPal or bank transfer (mercifully, we hadn't given it out!), wanted all our address information etc. so that "their" bank could transfer funds, then said that both "they" and "their agent" had sent checks, so could we possibly "refund" them half the monies!!!!!!!

Initially, we felt somewhat violated...... and rather stupid...... but have sent "them" a very "terse" e-mail saying that we have forwarded all their correspondence to the Attorney General's Office, are seeking legal action, and will not be scammed.

My advice to anyone else who has suspicions, especially after receiving such an inquiry, is to go with your gut feeling ALWAYS. You do have the upper hand....

We first thought that the inquiry was from someone rather senile (sorry!), due to the bad use of the English language and typing skills. Then the more we studied it, the more it became apparent that this "person" was not who they claimed to be, and was probably Russian/Ukranian as none of their sentences contained a definite or indefinite article; this is how their national language is structured, so this is a dead give-away.

"They" claimed to be inquiring from England, but the time shown on their incoming e-mails would have put "them" sitting at their computer at 2 am - 3 am in the UK! Highly unlikely.......

My advice, after feeling both idiotic and vindicated, is to always trust in yourself. If you have suspicions, particularly like I mentioned above, is to break off all contact immediately, keep a record of all the correspondence, change passwords if you feel like you need to (we did) to be on the safe side, and NEVER EVER be coerced into changing your policies to suit anyone.

Your holiday home is a huge investment, and you stand to lose not only that, but far more should "they" gain access to your identity and finances. Heed any doubts you have about a potential client. It is simply not worth the risk!

Same here. I knew it was a scam right from the get go when there were only 2 guests looking to rent my 4 br lake house which is way expensive for just 2 people. I asked them about their group and I got the below boilerplate response and didn't answer my questions which was more evidence of a fraud.

Hello

Thanks for the updated information.

We are okay with the accommodation and cost .I would also

like to confirm the reservation on the following information:

- Mr Igor Gluck & mrs Nancy Gluck

64 frunze road, 89240 kiev, Ukraine.

Also , due to the unsecured use of credit card online or on the phone, I

I received this three days ago, my very first confirmation turned out to be a scam. Made a request the day before without any comments, 2 people for a house that sleeps ten for a week in June. Odd behaviour....

What is it with the Ukraine? At this point if we saw that word in an inquiry, we would delete it immediately with no further thought. Feel sorry for the honest folks of that country whose name is now synonymous with "scam."

There was a mix up in the payment sent to you ,I was suppose to receive two separate payment one for you and the other for my traveling agent But all payments was issued in your name and sent .

I tried to correct this but it was in vain as i was ask to resolve the problem myself. It would have to go through a very long process to change this error . Please I don't know what to do.

I have been advised me to contact you since these checks where issued in your name , so you should be able to clear them into your account. As soon as you have the checks cleared to your account you are to deduct your rent and remit the balance to my travel agent Please do let me know how you can help on this issue .